Off-Grid Appliance Data Platform

Resources

Background

High-quality and efficient off-grid appliances have the ability to transform the lives of people living in under or un-electrified areas and play an essential role in developing the distributed clean energy market. Households living in off-grid and weak-grid area, like most families, desire cool air from fans, watching television together, generating additional household income by selling cool beverages to their customers. Appliances that are appropriately designed for off-grid and weak-grid context inspire and create consumer demand for decentralised energy solutions, such as solar home systems and mini-grids.

However, the off-grid appliance market remains nascent and disorganised. Most appliances that are currently available in off-grid retail markets draw too much power to be cost-effective and to be powered by SHSs. More importantly, little data or market intelligence exists to help market actors throughout the supply chain – including manufacturers, energy service companies, distributors, investors, policymakers, and consumers themselves – take smart action. The lack of appliance data and performance information inhibits the development of the global clean energy access market as a whole, and delays the delivery of modern energy services to the communities that need them most.

Overview

The Off-Grid Appliance Data Platform – supported by the Good Energies Foundation and the Low-Energy Inclusive Programme – addressed these challenges by creating and sharing accurate and consistent product performance data through an interactive, user-friendly database.

The programme samples off-grid appliances from retail markets, distributors, and manufacturers; tests them according to international best practice; shares the accumulated data; and works with policymakers, investors, companies and others to interpret and use the data.